Bikes & Gear
Evaluations & Recommendations
Long Term Review: Indian Scout Rogue
The first time I threw a leg over the 2023 Indian Scout Rogue and sat on the bike, gripped those 10” mini-ape bars and thumbed it to life, I’m not exaggerating when I say that the opening guitar riff of George Thorogood’s “Bad To The Bone” started playing in my head. The bar reach, the vibration, the low rumble of the twin exhaust, the somewhat forward footpegs, and the matte blacked-out everything save the chrome pipes just elicits a hooligan cruiser vibe. My voice dropped an octave and gained some gravel when riding the Rogue.
Read MoreLong-Term Review: Honda Rebel 1100T
Now we’ve ridden this new Rebel 1100T Bagger for about two months, and in a three-bike middleweight shootout, the auto Honda shines once again. We’ve ridden the motorbike on long stretches of state and interstate highway, throttled it through the famed Tail of the Dragon and other similar roads in the Southeast, and commuted locally on the Rebel. In all circumstances and occasions, that DCT transmission just performs. Make no mistake, we all still love the full hands and feet interaction of a manually-clutched bike. But this auto tranny is a pleasure to ride.
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Summer Tire Shootout- Dunlop Roadsmart IV vs. Michelin Pilot Road 6
Road Dirt’s summer tire shootout is back.
Last spring, after Dave “White Girl” Wensveen and I grossly over caffeinated ourselves, our acute grasp of the obvious made us realize we had the exact same bike. I suggested that it would be a perfect test bed for tires. Two identical bikes, two identical riders, each following the other around all spring, summer and fall while testing and taking notes sounded like the ideal way to put to bed all of the heresy regarding tire performance.
Long-Term Review: Harley-Davidson Nightster Special
Rolling up to a four-way stop in the left turn lane, I noticed an old white pickup truck pull up next to me on my right. As I glanced over, I saw a stocky bald guy with a goatee looking the Nightster over, mouth agape, tattooed forearm resting on his open window. After a moment, he muttered in a thick Southern accent, “Whut da hale??” I knew what he was thinking. I simply smiled then throttled off at my green turn arrow, to let him hear the sound I’m sure he didn’t expect from a Harley either.
This bike has elicited a similar reaction nearly everywhere we’ve ridden it.
Motorcycle Gear: REV’IT! Hyperspeed 2 Race/Track Suit
We recently were given the opportunity to review the new REV’IT! Hyperspeed 2 race and track suit, and being a racer, I was thrilled. REV’IT! is known worldwide for their high-quality road and off-road gear, but they also have a line of track and racing gear that is every bit as high-quality. The Hyperspeed 2 suit is new for 2023, so we were grateful for the chance to sample this suit, along with a pair of their Quantum 2 gloves and an Excellerator undersuit they sent us with it. I purchased a pair of their up-spec Jerez 3 gloves for racing this season, so we set about to evaluate all four items for the 2023 racing season I was preparing for.
Read MoreHappy Hunting
As the Royal Enfield-led press junket rolled out of the Laguna Mountains back toward San Diego, our group of 12 riders hopped on I-5 to merge with the fast flowing traffic. A couple of us toward the back of the caravan got separated from the main group while negotiating onto the freeway, so I found an opening, then throtted and upshifted hard into the moto mayhem. The spunky little 350cc single howled through its right side exhaust, and once in top (5th) gear, I pinned the throttle in an open lane, gunning for the front group of riders already about a half mile up ahead. The J-Series thumper took a deep breath, then started accelerating up to top end. Roaring down the interstate, the Hunter was stalking and apprehending automobile after automobile, in its quest for peak power. By the time I caught the group, the little beast had pegged 82 mph, rather impressive for so small a displacement motorbike.
“What a pint-size hooligan!” I shouted in my helmet.
Southern Comfort
Riding Three Cruisers In And Out Of Their Element ​ Life is slower in the Deep South. Deep in...
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Three of a Kind
When editor-at-large Ted Edwards asked me several months ago if he and his cousin/riding buddy Dave could come spend a week riding over here in the southeast with us, I of course welcomed the opportunity. Ted had been urging us to get into more multi-motorcycle reviews, so I set to work on turning their time here into a 3-way bike comparo. I reached out to my contacts at several brands, and came up with a cool assortment of middleweight cruisers to ride and review together- the brand new Harley-Davidson Nightster Special, the Indian Scout Rogue, and the Honda Rebel 1100T. These machines hold enough similarities and yet differences that I figured a 3-way ride and comparison would be quite interesting and entertaining, especially with these two clowns coming into town.
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Some Bucket List Bikes of 2023
We neglected to share these earlier, but when editor-in-chief Rob Brooks asked me for my dream list for motorcycles I wanted to ride in 2023, I dreamt big. Emphasis on dreamt. He did ask for a wish list after all. I leave it up to him to fulfill it.
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